Val Nichushkin, Human Blind Spot, is still better with one working ankle than most NHL forwards are on two.
The Avalanche’s big forward has played in just 16 games this season. Colorado’s won 11 of those bad boys, including Monday’s Martin Luther King Day beatdown of the Detroit Red Wings.
The cracks in the Avs’ roller-coaster Stanley Cup defense run deeper than that, of course. But it’s an awfully telling stat.
“There’s only one Val in the league,” teammate Nathan MacKinnon said after the Avs’ 6-3 victory, one that saw No. 13 contribute a point and four shots in his first game of 2023.